The present invention relates to handgun holsters.
More particularly, the invention provides a security catch for a rigid plastic holster which catch prevents an assailant from taking the handgun, yet provides practically no impediment to fast drawing of the weapon by its legitimate user.
The present invention is a modification of and an improvement on the invention described in Israel Specification No. 129,683 and corresponding U.S. application Ser. No. 09/546,506 the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference in the present application.
The advantages of the rigid plastic handgun holster, typically comprising of three injection molded castings joined together, have been explained in the above-mentioned specification. In particular the advantages of the rigid holster over the conventional leather item include quicker draw and a more stable handgun orientation. The former patent did not however refer to a security device intended to prevent accidental loss of the weapon or its seizure by a hostile person. Protection against such eventualities is known to be important to users, who will agree to pay a little extra for a holster having some form of security catch.
There is little difficulty in preventing withdrawal of a handgun from a holster by application of one of many known locking devices. These however do not allow for a fast draw in case the user experiences sudden danger from an unanticipated encounter. For police officers and other persons carrying out dangerous missions, the difference between fast and slow weapon deployment can decide the chance of survival.
Prior art devices are disclosed in the following US Patents.
Hamby, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,811 discloses a spring-release sliding latch to be released by the user pushing a lever for a partial revolution. The device if not kept clean and oiled is likely to jam so as to prevent the spring releasing the latch.
Atkins describes a safety device relying on hook and loop fastener tabs in the nylon fabric holster described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,776. Before weapon withdrawal the user must separate the tabs by running a thumb therebetween. In view of this, It is doubted whether fast withdrawal is possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,655 to Barry discloses a holding strap assembly on a gun holster offering three degrees of security at the cost of extended draw times for the more secure modes. Use of the device may well require user instructions. The strap assembly employs hook and loop fastening pads.
Adjustability is also offered by the locking system proposed by Young in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,799. A rotary control allows for setting to a fully locked position as well as various degrees of force needed to remove the gun from its holster. The problem is that gun owners can not know in advance when there will arise a sudden need for self defense; a securely locked weapon at such a time can be fatal.
A break-open front is a feature of the holster disclosed by Grummet in U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,236. The holster is restrained by a strap. A strap release device is provided as part of the holster. Release of the handgun thus requires two consecutive actions.
Solenoid activated lock release is featured in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,103 to Tilley. The obvious problem is that mobile power sources and switching devices become unreliable after an extended time period, so that the weapon may be unavailable when needed.
The limitations of prior art holster security devices illustrate that not surprisingly a higher degree of security is paid for by decreased release reliability and longer draw time. There is the further consideration that the cost of many of the prior art devicesxe2x80x94for example the electrically-releasable lock proposed by Tilleyxe2x80x94are unacceptable where the same end can be achieved at much lower cost and for less added weight.
It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of prior art security holsters and to provide a gun retention device which allows for the fastest possible release.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a fast-release device at a cost which is practically insignificant relative to the cost of the holster assembly itself.
The present invention achieves the above objects by providing a top-draw security holster for a handgun having a trigger guard of the type wherein the security holster is orientated for wearing by a user. The holster body has an inner and an outer side wall, an open top, a back and an at least partially-closed and non-opening front wherein a holster cavity is defined in the holster body characterized in that the security holster is provided with a flexible U-shaped latch control means having an inner arm and an outer arm bracketing a trigger guard receiving area of the holster cavity, wherein the inner arm is provided with an integral boss.
In the relaxed state, the latch control means extends into the trigger guard cavity of a handgun inserted in the holster body preventing drawing the handgun therefrom. The outer arm projects outwardly from the outer side wall of the holster body. Movement of the outer arm towards the holster in turn moves the inner arm away from the trigger guard thereby allowing the drawing of the handgun from the holster cavity in a straight upward motion through the open top of the holster body.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a top-draw security holster wherein the U-shaped latch control means is integrally formed with the holster body and made from the same plastic material.
In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided top-draw security holster wherein the outer arm is positioned to be engaged by the index finger or by the palm of the user wearing the holster when withdrawing the handgun.
In especially preferred embodiments of the present invention said latch-control means is intended for use in conjunction with the holster described and claimed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/546,506, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference and in which there is claimed a rigid plastic hand gun clip-on holster, comprising a rigid plastic holster having inner dimensions complementary to the configuration of the outer sections of a hand gun to be placed therein, wherein said holster is a product of injection molding and wherein said holster further comprises a retention member for mounting said holster on the upper rim of the user""s pants, wherein said retention member has a lateral step configuration along the longitudinal axis thereof, whereby said step forms a ledge that can underride a belt, and wherein the ledge of said step further comprises at least two spaced-apart upwardly extending flanges for hooking against the front surface of said belt, whereby said holster and said flanges are located forwardly at the front said of said belt thereby enabling said belt to act as stop means preventing upward movement of said holster, while allowing the quick draw of a gun therefrom.
Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,013 Collins describes and claims a top draw security holster designed to prevent an assailant from drawing a handgun from the holster while allowing one wearing the holster to draw the handgun from the holster in a straight and upward motion after easily and quickly moving a latch control to a released position. The holster is made of leather, which is an unsuitable material for the latch catch, which therefore needs to be made by the addition of a metal component. The latch comprises a flexible arm integrally connected to a side wall adjacent to a window in the side wall, and further comprises a boss integrally connected to the arm. In the released position the arm is allowed to be in a relaxed state outwardly extending from the side wall so as to allow insertion of the handgun, or straight and upward removal therefrom. In the latched position, the boss extends through the window and inside the trigger guard preventing handgun removal.
The holster described thus requires the user to execute two consecutive actions to withdraw the weapon.
With reference to his FIG. 4 Collins describes in more detail a procedure for drawing the handgun from the holster. The user applies a thumb against thumb break strap 40 to unsnap such strap from restraining strap 42, and then moves the thumb rearward in a substantially continuous and fluid motion so as to apply pressure to thumb tab 66 and unsnap paddle 48 from its latched position. The substantially rearward motion of the upper end 68 of paddle 48 is indicated by an arrow on the figure. The resulting released position of the paddle 48 allows arm 24 to be in its relaxed state, allowing insertion or withdrawal of the handgun.
In contradistinction thereto, the present invention allows for a quicker draw, and not only because the plastic holster has a much lower coefficient of friction than a leather holster. User withdrawal of the handgun is possible in what can be considered a single action comprising two componentsxe2x80x94applying pressure to the outer arm of the latch control U while drawing the handgun upwards. There are no straps requiring release. The result is a quicker draw, as will be further elaboratedxe2x80x94which in an emergency situation could be the difference between accomplishing a mission and becoming a casualty.
It will thus be realized that the novel security catch of the present invention allows the use of the weapon by its wearer in one instinctive movement. The same hand that grips the butt of the handgun applies pressure to the release catch and pulls the gun out of the holster in one instinctive movement.
Assuming the worst case, that a proximate assailant knows that the gun trigger guard is retained by a catch, and also knows what must be done to release the catch, theft of the weapon is not easily achieved. An assailant trying to steal the gun needs to use both handsxe2x80x94one hand to press the release catch and a second hand to pull out the weapon. Were both hands of the attacker thus occupied, the weapon owner would have an excellent opportunity for self-defense.
While all the embodiments of the holster of the present invention can be manufactured at a cost which is barely affected by the security catch, the embodiment seen in FIG. 4 will be of particular interest in this regard.
Although the illustrated example holster is intended for use of right-handed persons, it is to be understood that a holster providing exactly the same advantages will also be produced configured for use of left-handed users.
Full constructional details of the holster body were given in our previous patent and are not repeated in the present specification.
The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.
With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.